Sakher el-Materi is under investigation The son-in-law of Tunisia’s former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been arrested in the Seychelles, a source told Arabstoday. Sakher el-Materi tried to enter the country with an expired diplomatic passport after which an international arrest warrant was issued.
“He is currently under investigation, but not in detention,” said the Tunisian Minister of Justice Noureddine Bhiri.
“The Tunisian government is working with the Seychelles authorities to repatriate him,” Bhiri added.
A Tunisian business tycoon and a relative of former Tunisian leader, President Ben Ali, el-Materi was convicted in absentia of corruption by a Tunisian court in July 2011, along with his father-in-law and Mr Ben Ali\'s daughter Nesrine, who is Materi\'s wife.
He fled to Qatar shortly before his country’s uprising, but was expelled in September.
Materi and Ben Ali were sentenced to 16 years in prison and Nesrine was given an eight-year jail term, all in absentia.
\"Sakher el-Materi went to the Seychelles after leaving Qatar,\" Bhiri said. \"The Seychelles authorities opened an inquiry, because he was the subject of an international arrest warrant and because his passport had expired. The Tunisian authorities will do everything they can to get Sakher el-Materi extradited.\"